Truth Revealed
Doveheart I'm a TigerXDove fan!Tigerwing Prologue ”Stormkit!” Nightstar’s mew was full of distress. Pantherpelt and Nightstar ran right into a group of cats fighting for their lives. ”Help!” A black she cat with white paws and ears cried out. ”Snowfoot!” Another cat screeched. Suddenly, a cat yowled ”Shadow Cats, retreat! We got what we came for!” And a swarm of gray and brown pelts streamed out, leaving the clan cats gasping and lying on the ground. As one of them passed Nightstar, it hissed ”Thanks for the kit, Nightstar.” mockingly, and ran away. Nightstar lunged after them, but a black and white she cat blocked her way. ”Nightstar, Stormkit already too far away. I’m sorry” Nightstar fought and struggled, hissing ”Let me go, Ambergaze!” Then she went limp, looking desperately at Pantherpelt. ”Please....” She pleaded. Pantherpelt closed his eyes, and tried to concentrate. He tried to remember the times when he used his magic, and tried to call it back. A mental barrier seemed to block him, and Pantherpelt pushed against it. He tried again, and it broke, dark gray fog clouding his mind. He vanished in the shadows, and Nightstar watched hopefully, desperately. ”I’m sorry, Nightstar. I couldn’t find him” Pantherpelt murmured, several hours later, pelt soaked with rain and mud. Nightstar let out a choked cry, and stumbled blindly to the nursery, where she curled around her remaining two she kits. *Moonpaw I was back. Finally back. I padded through the camp entrance with Sootpaw, familiar scents greeting me as I looked back one last time at my friends. They had rescued me from a Twoleg nest, and they smiled and waved their tails, and disappeared into the undergrowth and trees. ”Moonpaw!” Relieved cries echoed around the camp, and Hollyfoot raced to the leader’s den, yowling ”She’s back!” Nightstar burst out of the den, eyes shining with relief as she spotted me, and ran over, rubbing her cheek against mine. ”Thank Starclan” She breathed out with relief. ”We were so worried” I twisted my head to look at Sootpaw, who was looking pretty awkward as he sat by the entrance. I frowned. None of the cats had said anything to him, nor did they say they missed him. I beckoned him over with my tail. He padded slowly over, finally coming to a stop next to me. Nightstar opened her mouth, and I mewed quickly ”He rescued me from the Twolegs. He brought me back” Nightstar looked at him, and mewed ”Thank you, Sootpaw” Sootpaw blushed with embarressment, and padded away to the apprentices’ den. *Sootpaw As I padded into the apprentices’ den, I saw Coralpaw hanging out with Coalpaw. She saw me, and her eyes narrowed. ”Sootpaw!” But before she could say anything, Pinepaw raced over, purring. ”You’re back! We’ve been worried!” He cried out, and Ravenpaw, his best friend, was soon at his side. ”Is Moonpaw okay?” She asked. My face flushed slightly, and nodded. ”Moonpaw!” Maplepaw and Twilightpaw exclaimed, and ran over to the black apprentice who just walked in. ”I’ve missed you!” Moonpaw purred. ”Why were you captured in a Twoleg nest?” Twilightpaw asked. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Coralpaw stiffen slightly. Moonpaw seemed to glance her way, and finally replied ”I was hunting near the border when a Twoleg came out of nowhere and snatched me up” Coralpaw’s eyes widened with shock, but she quickly hid it, her face expressionless. ”Finally! A nice plump vole, my favorite” I declared as I settled down with Pinepaw and Ravenpaw. Pinepaw laughed, and Ravenpaw flicked him on the ear with her tail. ”Hey!” He protested. Ravenpaw stuck her tongue out, teasing him. Suddenly, I felt someone settle down next to me. ”Really? I never thought vole was your favorite. I thought it was mouse” Moonpaw said, eyes rounding innocently. ”Hey! Stop teasing” I growled playfully. ”Aw, hav I injured wittle Sootpaw’s pwide?” Moonpaw teased, and I pretended to look injured. I lunged at her, and she slipped to the side, but I twisted midair and managed to connect, sending us into a tumble of fur and dust. *Seapaw ”Seapaw! Blazepaw!” Shinesnow yowled with delight as me and my sister padded through the camp. ”Where have you been? We thought a fox had gotten you!” Blazepaw and I were surrounded in an instant by our clanmates, pelts mingling. ”We’re fine, we’re fine” I assured Littlelight as he looked as if he wanted to check us all over. ”Get Wavepool! He’ll want to hear about this!” Honeypelt yowled, and soon, Wavepool, Featherpaw, and Tigerpaw came racing in. ”Seapaw, Blazepaw, you’re back!” Featherpaw and Tigerpaw exclaimed. ”Yeah, I’ve noticed” Blazepaw muttered beside me. I stifled a purr, and looked up to see Wavepool. ”I’m just glad you’re okay” He purred, nuzzling us, and sharing a relived glance with Shinesnow. I went over to Featherpaw, who was standing next to Tigerpaw. ”So, you’re together now?” I asked. Featherpaw blushed, and Tigerpaw looked at his paws. ”Yeah, kinda” He mumbled. ”Hey, where’s Dustpaw?” Blazepaw asked, puzzled. *Blazepaw As soon as I asked, Tigerpaw’s eyes darkened. I knew at once something terrible had happened. ”He’s dead” Tigerpaw said, looking away. ”Why?” Seapaw asked. Featherpaw looked at us, eyes mournful. ”He... he loved you, you know” She started. ”What?” I mewed, shocked. Seapaw suddenly gave a gasp like she understood, even though I sure didn’t. ”Then, he..” Seapaw started. Tigerpaw nodded numbly. Seapaw gave a cry, and laid her tail on Tigerpaw’s shoulder. ”I’m so sorry” She murmured, comforting him. I didn’t understand. What did Dustpaw liking me have to do with him dying? ”He tried to search for you. He looked everywhere. And one day, he started acting strangely, saying sorry and good bye to everyone. And we never saw him alive again” Featherpaw said softly. The ground suddenly felt unsteady under me. The world was reeling. ”And?” I managed to choke out, tears forming. ”And we found him the next day at the bottom of the cliff that borders our territory and Nightclan’s. His neck was broken. He’d killed himself” Featherpaw’s mew was barely more than a whisper. The tears finally came, streaming down my cheeks. ”I’m sorry” I whispered, and I saw Tigerpaw, his face stiff with grief. And it was too much. Something inside me snapped, and the world went black. *Birdpaw I splashed through the water, finally reaching the shore. My legs were aching from not swimming for so long. And inside, I felt queasy. Water had never felt right to me, even if I was a Waterclan cat. It collided with the fire inside of me, and I tried to stay out of the water as much as I could. I had once tried to ask my mother why I was different, but she’d been strangely edgy when I asked. …”Skyflight, why do I feel strange in the water? I’m different from the other kits. They tease me because I prefer land over water, and because I can use fire.” The yellow and white tabby sobbed, curled up next to her mother. Skyflight stiffened, for just an instant, and opened her mouth to reply, when Flamepelt, Skyflight’s littermate, padded over. ”Because you’re not normal” He spat. ”You don’t belong here” He sneered, and started to go away, when Skyflight leaped to her paws, eyes blazing with fury. ”How dare you! Flamepelt, haven’t you gotten over her yet? And you should never blame my kit!” She snarled, fur bristling. Birdkit was shocked. She had never seen her normally quiet, gentle mother this angry before. Flamepelt’s green eyes glittered with pain, anger, and disgust. ”I have never forgiven him, or her. She tore my heart into pieces when she chose him over me. And what about you? He broke your heart. Shouldn’t you be angry?” Birdkit started to tremble. What was he talking about? Skyflight flinched, and her eyes turned hard. ”I have forgiven him, he never was for me. It is a thing of the past, and I will not hold grudges. Blame my kit one more time, and I will no longer call you as my littermate again. We will never call each other kin again” She spoke in a soft, deadly voice. Flamepelt sniffed, and turned away. ”Very well” Birdkit looked horrified at her mother. ”Don’t argue because of me!” She cried out. Skyflight narrowed her eyes at the retreating shape. ”It isn’t your fault, it’s his” she hissed. Birdkit curled up even tighter, and soon sleep started to make her eyes droop. As she rested against her mother, she thought she heard her whisper softly ”I’m sorry, my kit. I’ll tell you the truth one day, I promise”… Shaking off the memory, I padded warily to the camp, and slid into my nest quietly as everyone slept. *Goldpaw I shook off the fuss other cats made over me, and made my way to the knot of apprentices. Heartpaw, as usual, was with Snakepaw. We could all tell that they liked each other, but they were too stubborn to admit it. ”Hey, Jaypaw! How was it while I was gone?” I called out. The gray tabby looked up, and bounded over. ”Completely boring!” Jaypaw replied. ”No it wasn’t! Jaypaw creates enough excitement for the entire clan! One day, he’s going to create a huge situation!” Tawnypaw teased from behind Jaypaw. Duskpaw gave a snort of amusement, and Jaypaw glowered at Tawnypaw. ”I’m going to get you for that!” He yelled, racing after Tawnypaw. She pretended to look scared, ducking behind Daisypaw, who laughed and leapt lightly out of the way. ”Stop fighting, you guys” Bramblepaw said, shaking with laughter. ”Guys and girls” Mallowpaw corrected. ”Heartpaw, can you stop molding your pelt against Snakepaw and come here for a sec?” Duskpaw teased. Heartpaw blushed, and Snakepaw glared at him playfully. ”Want to duel for it?” Snakepaw said. ”Oh, you’re on! You and me, the training area in the afternoon” yowled Duskpaw. ”This is going to be interesting” I heard Jaypaw whisper. ”I know. We’ll have some great blackmail by the time they finish” I whispered back. *Moonpaw I padded to the elder’s den to clean out their nests. Normally, Skies never do this, but hey, it won’t kill me to do this once. ”Hello, Moonpaw. It seems like a long time ago when you three were in here all the time, pestering me for stories” Patchfur purred, and I took the dirty moss out when something caught my mind. ’You three’ ''Patchfur had said. I came back inside, and asked ”Wait. You said there were three of us. But I only have Coralpaw. Who’s the third?” Patchfur tipped his head, and mewed ”Why, it’s Stormkit! Don’t tell me you don’t remember your brother!” Brother? Stormkit? Who is he? Why don’t I remember him? I was jerked out of my train of jumbled thoughts when Patchfur murmured thoughtfully, ”Strange. I don’t remember seeing him after the cats attacked...” ’What?’ I was aching to ask, but I managed to keep a calm face as I quickly mewed thanks and raced out. Nightstar had some explaining to do. ”Um... Yes. You had another littermate, Stormkit. One day, cats attacked our camp and stole him away. You were such a young kit then that you don’t remember” Nightstar mewed sadly. Stormkit. The name stirred memories so old I had nearly forgotten. ''…”Moonkit! Coralkit! Let’s play mossball! I’ll be the catcher!” A small smoky black tom squeaked as he woke the two she kits. Moonkit stretched, her tiny claws sliding out. Coralkit woke up immediately, green eyes shining with excitement. ”Me first!” She chirped, and Moonkit, purring, circled Stormkit.… *Sootpaw I was just going out to hunt when I saw Moonpaw walk numbly out of the elder’s den. I wondered why Moonpaw looked so shocked. ”Moonpaw, do you want to go hunting?” I called out, and Moonpaw shook herself, and looked at me. ”Sure” she said. Coralpaw saw us, and I braced myself for taunts, but she just narrowed her eyes and padded away with Coalpaw. Twilightpaw, Ravenpaw, Pinepaw were out on a patrol, and Thistlepaw was battle training while Maplepaw was out collecting herbs. ”Nice catch!” Moonpaw purred as I bounded towards her, a small bird in my jaws. I buried the prey, and looked up at her. Those gold eyes seemed like round pools, and her glossy blue black fur shone in the setting sun. ”Sootpaw” Moonpaw started. ”Why?” I asked. Moonpaw looked anxious, and I wanted to comfort her in any way I could. ”You see, when you probably were out on a quest to look for me, Seapaw, Blazepaw, Goldpaw, Birdpaw and me recieved a prophecy from Starclan, something about the Clans’ future.” ”Tell me” I prompted. Moonpaw took a deep breath.'' ”Five cats shall answer the call/ From five clans they each come all/ Shadows shall fall to ice or fire/ To save the Clans from danger so dire/ A secret revealed in a single last stand/ Death to come in a storm’s final end''” She said. I sucked in a deep breath ”Looks like our adventure isn’t over yet” I said. Moonpaw frowned, puzzled. ”What do you mean by ’our’?” ”You really don’t expect me to stay all nice and cozy while you five go out to save the Clans. I’m going to help you guys” I said, as if it was obvious. Well, maybe it was. ”Really?” Moonpaw exclaimed. ”Yeah. And by the way, are you going to keep your ice powers a secret?” I asked. Moonpaw looked uncomfortable. ”Maybe later.” She mumbled. I knew she didn’t wan’t to talk about it, so I dropped the subject. ”And... You know,” I started to say, my throat suddenly very dry, ”Our being together, is it official?” I asked. Moonpaw’s face blushed light pink, and she purred ”It’s official, you stupid furball” I couldn’t help a grin stretching across my face. *Blazepaw ”Blazepaw! Blazepaw! Are you alright?” Seapaw’s frantic mew shook me awake. ”What?” I mumbled, tring to figure out why I was lying on the ground in the first place. Then the memories came back. Tears flooded my eyes again, but I blinked them back. ”Yes, I’m okay.. And Tigerpaw? I’m really sorry, I didn’t know” I apologized. Tigerpaw sighed and forced a purr. ”It’s okay. At least he’s safe in Starclan” I padded out to see Dreampaw play-fighting with Cloudpaw. Dreampaw’s ability is seeing visions and the future, and Cloudpaw can sense cats’ emotions and feelings. Ashpaw went out with his mentor for battle training. Butterflypaw was in camp sorting herbs with Littlelight. Butterflypaw has the power of making wishes come true, and Ashpaw can see straight through solid objects if he concentrates. …Blazepaw padded along a starry forest. Had she joined Starclan? Is she dead? These questions buzzed in her mind, until she came face to face with a cat. Dustpaw. Starlight gleamed in his sandy brown fur, and his eyes glowed with wisdom far past his age. ”I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you” Blazepaw whispered, misery coming off of her in waves. Dustpaw touched noses, murmuring ”It’s not your fault. You saved a life.” ”And lost yours” Blazepaw said miserably. ”I will wait for you here, until it is your time to come. But until then, keep the clans safe for me” said Dustpaw gently, looking at her with eyes shining with love. Then the forest started to fade away. ”Until the day we walk together, among the stars” Blazepaw said softly.… *Seapaw It was a relief to see Blazepaw recover, and soon, we settled into the familiar routine of apprentice duties. I tasted the air. The flowery scents of greenleaf had deepened into a musty richness; leaf-fall was closing in. Tigerpaw had recieved his warrior name a moon ago, Tigerblaze, and we had a moon left to become warriors. Even as we trained, I never forgot the prophecy spelling danger for the clans. And something told me it wasn’t finished yet; it hadn’t even started. I woke in the middle of the night to the sound of yowling. At first, I thought intruders were attacking, but I realized the yowl was from Firelily, our clan’s current queen along with Vixentail, probably meaning she was kitting. Sleep all but gone, I padded out curiously to see Smokefur, Firelily’s mate, pace anxiously around the clearing. It was probably more distressful to him as he kept slipping into her mind, reading thoughts of fear and pain. Soon, Littlelight, our medicine cat since Birdlight died, and his apprentice, Butterflypaw, called out happily ”Two toms and a she kit!” Smokefur immediately raced in, and I heard loud purring, coupled with tiny mews, echoed out. The next morning, I went to congradulate Firelily. ”The kits look so beautiful and strong. They’ll be good warriors” I said to the queen, and she purred ”I know. This is Spiritkit, Ripplekit, and Silverkit” Spiritkit was a light gray tom with bright yellow eyes, Ripplekit was a dark gray tom with amber eyes. The she kit, Silverkit, was a silvery gray tabby with clear blue eyes. I admired them for a while, and padded out. Glancing around the clearing, I saw Featherpaw and Tigerblaze, Cloudpaw and Dreampaw eating prey together. I suddenly found myself thinking about Goldpaw, and our promise. I had forgotten it for a long time. I decided to meet him, and ask if it was true. ”Goldpaw!” I called out softly, and I saw the golden tabby apprentice prick his ears, and glance about before he made hisway towards me. ”What are you doing here? Brackenstar will have your ears off if he finds you here!” Goldpaw said, worried. ”Then let’s find someplace else to talk. Can you meet me at claw-moon, at Merging Trees?” I said, and he swiftly dipped his head before nudging me gently across the border. ”Love you, Seapaw” He whispered before disappearing into the forest. I stood there, and felt relief washing over me. ’He still loves me! He remembers the promise!’ I felt like jumping with joy, but decided against it. *Birdpaw I padded out to the clearing, and the only one who seemed pleased to meet me was Skyflight and Shimmerstar. ”Birdpaw! I was so worried about you!” Skyflight said with relief, purring loudly, rubbing against her daughter’s cheek. ”Birdpaw, the Clan was worried when you suddenly disappeared. We thought an otter had gotten you. Please be careful next time” Shimmerstar said solemnly. ’The Clan was worried. Most likely Skyflight was worrying enough for the whole Clan’ I thought sadly, and looked up at Shimmerstar. ”I won’t. I promise” I said softly, and headed out of camp. ”Look! It’s the loser Birdpaw!” Somebody hissed when I came into camp with a mouse and a minnow. I flinched, dropping the minnow on the prey pile and went to a small enclosure to eat my mouse. ”Done eating, loser?” Mistpaw loomed over me, sneering. I crouched even tighter, wanting to escape. ”Why did you even come back? We were happy without you, freak.” Ashpaw taunted, lashing out a paw at my eyes. I flinched backwards, shuddering as the claws barely missed my eyes by a whisker. ’He could have blinded me!’ The terrified thought burned in my mind. ”I bet you were born just to bring bad luck” Stonepaw growled, and I flattened myself against the ground, wishing for anything, anybody to help me. But Skyflight was out on a border patrol, and Shimmerstar was out hunting. The other warriors adverted their eyes when they saw the apprentices teasing me, not caring, and even joining in sometimes. ”Hey guys, stop” A soft mew echoed behind my tormentors. They spun around, face-to-face with Quailpaw. ”Why do you care, are you in love with the loser?” Mistpaw taunted, and Quailpaw looked at her coolly. ”It’s not that, I called you to stop because your mentors are looking for you.” He said calmly, and my heart fluttered to see him in such control. The reason I had a crush on Quailpaw was he was kind, down-to-earth, and had an aura of quiet confidence around him that made him so popular. ”Huh. We were just about to go anyway” Ashpaw said disdainfully, and Mistpaw sniffed, her nose in the air as the three padded away. ”Th...Thanks” I stammered, a blush rising on my cheeks as he looked at me with those warm, gentle emerald eyes. ”Be careful next time” he cautioned, padding away, and I simply stared after him, lost in daydreaming. Then I shook myself fiercely. ’Even if you like him, why would he like me? After all, he deserves a popular, pretty she cat, not a loser like me.’ I snarled at myself, and went dejectedly to my favorite place, where the sea formed a small pool. I stared at myself in it, and the tears came. Each drop fell into the pool, a reminder of the lost hopes and dreams I had for a better life in Waterclan. *Goldpaw I could hardly wait for claw-moon to come. I was starting to wish I had told her to meet earlier, when the days went by, and claw-moon finally came. I almost killed Jaypaw and Tawnypaw as they came in from the night patrols, nearly trampling them as I ran out. Explaining hurriedly-”I’m going to hunt!”-to the two confused apprentices, I tore out of camp, to the Merging Trees. There I sat, hidden out of sight, waiting for the pretty blue apprentice to come by. Seapaw soon came, glancing about carefully every so often, slowly padded into the clearing. ”Goldpaw, Goldpaw!” She called, and I padded up to her. ”You came” I breathed. ”Of course I came, mousebrain. What did you expect, a patrol?” Seapaw teased, her spark of playfulness surfacing. ”You remembered the promise?” I said. ”Of course I did” Seapaw said, leaning against me. I breathed in her sweet scent. She wasn’t Charmclan now. She was mine, and me hers. We were each others’ now. …He gave a small purr, and wrapped his tail around hers, waiting for her to move away. She didn’t. ”But it’s fobidden. What about Charmclan?” He whispered softly. ”I can be loyal to Charmclan and still be with you. This will work, right?” She said. ”Forever. No boundaries will ever be strong to seperate us” He promised.… ”No boundaries will ever be strong to seperate us” I murmured, and Seapaw purred, a gentle vibration of sound. ”I need to ask you, what will become of the prophecy?” Seapaw said a moment later. ”I don’t know. We’ll just have to wait until it starts.” I mewed uncertaintly, wishing I had something better to say. ”It said something about secrets being revealed. I wonder what it is” Seapaw mused. I nudged her, saying ”Let’s not dwell on depressing topics. We came here to play, not worry” Seapaw laughed, and immediately pounced on me. I squawked, going down, and rolled over, pinning her. She darted out, leaping at me, and I jumped sideways, but she had anticipated me, and landed on my back. We finally disentangled ourselves, gasping for breath. ”Well, that was fun” Seapaw said after a minute. ”See you at the next Gathering!” I called out, and Seapaw nodded. *Moonpaw When I woke up in my nest, Sootpaw was curled up next to me, snoring softly. For a moment, I was confused why Sootpaw was so close to me, and remembered. We had officially become a couple, and I would make sure it would stay that way. ”Wake up, sleepyhead. The sun is out” I whispered, poking Sootpaw. ”Wha..?!” He said, jumping out of his nest, ours, looking as if he’d stepped on a thistle. I laughed, saying ”Did you forget? We promised to hunt in the morning” Sootpaw looked confused for an instant before snapping out of his daze, following me out of the tunnel. ”Look who’s with the Mouse. Isn’t it Moonpaw? I’m disappointed in you.” Coralpaw sneered. We ignored her, brushing past her. After all, we had faced worse things than Coralpaw’s taunts. And a part of me.... Well, I still wished and longed for the times we played together, without any jealousy. Whatever she does, she is my sister, my littermate, and that is everything to me. Maybe...someday we might be friends again. Just maybe. ”Nice!” I mewed to Sootpaw, who had caught a sparrow. ”Uh... thanks” he mumbled through the feathers. He set it dow next to the two voles I caught, and his shrew. ”We should get to camp” He said, picking up the prey. I followed behind, stepping carefully over sticks and branches that might be in our way. Sootpaw suddenly tripped over a tree root, tumbling and I tripped over him. We soon landed in a laughing heap, the prey tossed farther down. ”Clumsy furball” I chided Sootpaw and he blushed. We soon curled up in the clearing, sharing a pidgeon. ”Hey, Sootpaw. I heard rumors that you were with Moonpaw now, is it true?” Twilightpaw said, sitting next to us. Sootpaw blushed, and started at his paws. So I piped up. ”It’s true” I said rather proudly. Why shouldn’t I? Sootpaw is a kind, fun tom, and I should consider myself lucky. *Seapaw ”Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here in the clearing for a Clan meeting!” Morningstar yowled, and me, Blazepaw, and Featherpaw, blinking sleep from our eyes, crept out of the apprentices’ den. ”The dawn patrol has brought back news of Waterclan cats sneaking into our forest, and stealing prey” Outraged hissing and growls broke out, and Morningstar waved her tail to quiet them down. ”So we have decided to act. Today, we will catch the Waterclan cats guilty of stealing prey, and teach them a lesson!” She yowled, and mews of approval broke out. ”Look! They aren’t even subtle about it!” Blazepaw whispered furiously beside me as the battle patrol, consisted of me, Blazepaw, Featherpaw, Shinesnow, Nightclaw, and Wavepool, who had strangely insisted on going when Shinesnow was included, spotted Waterclan cats hunting prey in the undergrowth. Moving quietly, we soon had them surrounded. ”Trespassers!” Hissed Nightclaw as we emerged. The cats looked panicked for a moment before one of them mewed ”That’s what you think. Well, we’ve got you outnumbered” The bushes shivered behind us, and more cats stepped out. This time, we were the ones surrounded. ”Featherpaw! Get word back to camp!” Hissed Wavepool, and my sister took off. ”After her!” The cat snarled, and several cats went after her, but Wavepool and Nightclaw blocked them, and the rest of us attacked as Waterclan cats rounded on us. I attacked the warriors, stifling a screech as one of them raked across my ear. Hissing, I whipped around, giving one of them a kick from my hind legs, and clawed furiously at one cat, who shrieked and fled. I looked around to see where I was needed. Spotting a familiar white and brown tabby, I rushed after her. ”Birdpaw! I thought we were friends!” I said, angry. ”What? I just came here because my mentor made me! I don’t even know why we’re fighting!” Birdpaw said, panicked as she avoided my claws. Really confused now, I dropped to my paws, and looked at her. ”You don’t know?” ”They never tell me” Blazepaw burst in beside me, lunging for Birdpaw. I knocked Blazepaw away from Birdpaw, and she stumbled to a stop. ”Wait!” I said, and quickly explained everything. Just then, a tom with a flame pelt lunged at me, rolling me over. I flailed wildly with my paws, but I couldn’t land a blow. ”So you’re Wavepool’s kit” Snarled the tom, and I was confused. Behind him, Wavepool and Shinesnow burst upon the scene, and Shinesnow leaped on the tom, while Wavepool started to pounce on Birdpaw, who looked terrified. Suddenly, a white she cat with light gray patches knocked Wavepool away from Birdpaw. Her eyes were wild, and Wavepool looked, startled at her. ”Skyflight? Flamepelt?” He said, and Shinesnow’s eyes stretched wide. Skyflight stood protectively over Birdpaw. ”Don’t hurt her! She’s your kit!” said Skyflight desperately. Birdpaw, me, Blazepaw, Wavepool, and Shinesnow were all stunned. And then, I saw that Birdpaw had the same eyes as Wavepool, and they looked similar in the shape of the ears. *Birdpaw ’I’m a half clan? Wavepool is my father?’ I thought, confused. Flamepelt suddenly snarled, saying ”She is your kit, Wavepool. Shinesnow, doesn’t it seem familiar?” Shinesnow flinched, and looked at Blazepaw. I was puzzled, until I saw that Blazepaw looked like Flamepelt, in her pelt and in her eyes. ”I’m sorry. I couldn’t let you hurt your kit without even knowing. And Birdpaw deserved to know” Skyflight murmured. ”Wait, Blazepaw’s father is Flamepelt?” I wondered out loud, and Shinesnow flattened her ears, while Flamepelt looked in shock at her. ”You’re a traitor then, both to your clan and me” Flamepelt said slowly, and Wavepool hissed with fury. ”You have absolutely no right to be holding grudges on Shinesnow. She made her choice.” He snarled, and Flamepelt growled, sliding out his claws. Seapaw froze with horror beside me, as Skyflight and Shinesnow looked with shock. Blazepaw’s gaze was blank, and I felt numb. Flamepelt suddenly stepped away, hissing, and ran away. ”Seapaw? Blazepaw?” Shinesnow called out softly, reaching out, but Blazepaw backed away, hurt clouding her eyes. ”You lied to me. I am halfclan.” She whispered, and Shinesnow’s eyes flashed with pain. ”I’m sorry. I just wanted to raise you as a loyal Charmclan warrior..” She started, but Blazepaw shook her head. ”Lies! I was raised on lies! Leave me alone!” She shrieked, and fled. Shinesnow started a few steps after her, but Seapaw stopped her. ”I’ll comfort her, Shinesnow. Don’t worry” She whispered, and Shinesnow crouched, seeming small and fragile. I had been watching numbly, while Skyflight and Wavepool looked at each other. ”Fire” I murmured, and both cats jumped. ”Fire. It was from Charmclan.” I said again, and both cats looked at me. Anger and hurt rose in me, making everything seem fuzzy. I forced it away, my body shuddering as I took gasping breaths. ”Birdpaw, I never knew. I’m sorry” Wavepool said, and I nodded. ”I was teased because I used fire. Because I was different from them. And all the time it was because I had a Charmclan cat for a father” A slightly hysterical tone entered my mew. ”A Charmclan cat for a father! How ironic, when Blazepaw herself had Flamepelt as a father!” I said hysterically, and took deep breaths to calm down. ”I promised I would tell you someday. I’m sorry it came out like this” Skyflight said. ”Don’t say sorry.” I said, and was shocked at the hard edge in my mew. I looked at Wavepool, then at Skyflight. ”Just give me some time to myself. I need to think” I said, and plunged into the sea, heading for camp. *Goldpaw The Gathering seemed tense, somehow, as I padded over to the cluster of apprentices. Birdpaw seemed to be more withdrawn then usual, and Blazepaw sulked by herself, with Seapaw trying to talk to her. ”Hey guys!” I called out, and Seapaw purred when she saw me, and Moonpaw and Sootpaw came over, side by side. ”How’s the prey running?” I said, and Moonpaw purred ”Pretty good” Sootpaw nodded. ”Birdpaw, Blazepaw, what’s the matter?” Sootpaw said, heading over to them. Seapaw glared at him, and Sootpaw shut his mouth. Birdpaw lifted her head, and Blazepaw narrowed her eyes. ”My father is Wavepool” Birdpaw said in a low voice, and Blazepaw snarled ”My father is Flamepelt” Sootpaw looked startled, stepping back, and said ”Oh”